Top 101 Starting Pitchers: Rest-Of-Season Rankings for Fantasy Baseball Week 7 (2026)

May 13, 2026

Nick Mariano's updated fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings for Week 7 (2026). Baller Ranks is a weekly rankings list for the top-101 starting pitchers.

Welcome back to the weekly starting pitcher party that seemingly never ends. We've got about three-quarters of the season yet to be written, which gives rest-of-season ranks a sizeable amount of potential! Let's rip open the latest edition of the FSWA-award-winning Best Baseball Series, our weekly updated "Top 101 Starting Pitchers", where my weekly Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks look to assist you to the top spot.

Readers will find my SP thoughts with tiered ranks (the tiers matter more than individual ranks), complemented by a rest-of-season auction value orientation point ($), their Previous Week's Value (PV), the trend between the two, and a (+/-) column denoting the rank shift from last week. There is also a prospect table at the end from star evaluator, Eric Cross. This is written throughout Tuesday so that the table reflects some games (but not all), and so stats cited are typically through Monday.

These ranks are geared toward traditional 5x5 roto leagues, and I typically exclude most injured SPs unless they're about to return (setbacks being so common). We're entering the heart of the regular season, so expect far more turbulence and shifts among the ranks, especially with the many injuries at the top. Okay, please note the tiers and don't solely hyperfixate on the ordinal ranks, and let's hop into it!

Starting Pitcher Rankings Analysis for Week 7

**Well, fate laughed at me for easing up on injury-prone labels, taking Tyler Glasnow’s back and Nathan Eovaldi’s side in the process. We’ve also seen Cole Ragans, Matthew Boyd, and Taj Bradley hit the IL. Even Mr. Safe Pick himself, Logan Webb, aka The Bankable Innings, is out. Just appreciate the present and be ready to pivot.

It makes things extra scary to look at the top five and see immediate risk in Ohtani, Sale, and deGrom. However, I think it just reinforces how the current landscape is extremely volatile and even a perceived rotation of risk can be king. And how, after eight innings of dominant baseball against the Rockies, Paul Skenes’ value amidst a solo top tier is even greater.

Paul Skenes had a 67.50 ERA after his first start.

His ERA this season now is: 1.98.

Career ERA is: 1.97.

And, he hasn't walked a batter in a month (April 13) pic.twitter.com/QEPmUvuEPc

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 13, 2026

-Cristopher Sanchez is suddenly Mr. Save-A-WHIP, holding the Giants, A’s, and (road) Rockies to two total runs with 16 baserunners allowed over 21 ⅔ IP. He won two of those, posting 24 Ks in the process. Yes, teams like SF/COL are not that inspiring, but Sanchez had a 2.20 WHIP against the Giants on April 7, so shut up and smile.

We’re getting more whiffs and the .217 xBA is lower than last season’s .225 tally, as is the .338 xSLG (.345). His average launch angle against is 0.3 degrees, which yields that 96th percentile 59.1% groundball rate. Barrels are up, yet his overall pulled AIR rate is down to 11.7% from 13.4%.

But the balls in play are finding a Phillies team sitting near the bottom with -9 Outs Above Average and -7 Runs Prevented, per Statcast. In 2025, they ranked 11th with +11 OAA and +7 RP. Getting rid of Nick Castellanos (-12 in ‘25) was a win, and Alec Bohm has improved, but Bryce Harper (+1 in ‘25, currently -6) and Trea Turner (+17, -5!) are…woof.

-Jacob Misiorowski showed no ill signs of that hamstring cramp, and it apparently gave him the superpowers needed to average 103 mph on the heater during the first inning against the Yankees.

Of 145 SPs with at least 20 IP, his 39.5% K rate is far and away in first place, with Dylan Cease (34.6%) in second. The 34% CSW rate is also first, with Ryan Weathers (32.8%) trailing. It should come as no surprise that his Zone Contact rate of 76.3% is also tops. But you probably wouldn’t guess that Tanner Bibee (78%) is second. Payton Tolle is fourth!

Jacob Misiorowski's ranks among qualified pitchers this season...

ERA: 2.45 (17th)
FIP: 2.62 (8th)
xFIP: 2.39 (1st)
SIERA: 2.40 (1st)
WHIP: 0.95 (T-9th)
K%: 39.5% (1st)
K-BB%: 29.9% (1st)
SwStr: 17.1% (1st)
CSW: 34% (1st)
BAA: .161 (2nd)
Whiff: 39.2% (1st)#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/xboucPh9kh

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) May 12, 2026

-Zack Wheeler averaged 94.8 mph during Tuesday’s toying with the Red Sox, maxing out at 96.1 with zero walks over 7 ⅓ IP. He struck out four and allowed one run, needing just 87 pitches on an efficient evening. Wheeler’s walks by start: Three, two, one, and zero. Tune in next week to see if he discovers what a “-1 walk” looks like.

-Joe Ryan emerged with six innings of one-run ball versus Cleveland after that elbow soreness scare against the Jays. The velocity was above average, and we’re as relaxed as we could be with only one start in the books since an elbow issue. It will take a while for full trust to return.

-Carlos Rodon’s return to action was rust personified. The stuff remains sturdy, as he allowed just two hits with four Ks over 4 ⅓ IP, but five walks were his undoing. Seeing his fastball velo average sniffing 96 mph is also quite neat, but the first-start boost likely wanes and settles closer to his 2025 figure of 94-95. But each outing should knock more rust off, so we’re happy.

-Blake Snell is another guy coming off an injury whose 2026 debut box score is ugly, but we’re good with the foundation shown. He was snakebitten by a .545 BABIP (6-for-11) with no barrels, two hard hits, and a negative 8.1 degree average launch angle. The 119 Stuff+ grade was carried by his secondaries, including a 160 mark for his curveball. Brighter days will come.

-Spencer Strider opposed Snell and crushed the Dodgers in his second start of the year, as well as any hopes of sneaking in a buy-low offer after Coors-amplified rust played out on May 3. Did he intentionally throw more curves instead of sliders in Colorado due to the altitude?

The usage more than flipped against LAD (16% sliders to 35%, 31% curves to 11%). His fastball also climbed by nearly two ticks. Progress isn’t linear, but this sure feels good to witness.

Spencer Strider began his scoreless first with this strikeout of Shohei Ohtani. FB touched 97.5 and averaged 96.5 mph in the first. 10 of his 15 pitches were heaters pic.twitter.com/7WDZa6zOjk

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 10, 2026

-Logan Henderson keeps passing MLB test after test, with the latest having him hold a potent Yankees team to two runs over five innings. He went right after them with 54-of-74 pitches thrown for strikes, boosting his 16:2 K:BB in 13 IP (49:10 over 38 ⅓ MLB IP total). The only test we’re unsure about is health, but we’ve addressed that macro fear, and MIL keeping him around.

-Framber Valdez going to a glove that is shorter and doesn’t hide his grips as effectively seems like an odd choice, albeit an extremely fixable one.

-Kris Bubic is basically pitting ERA/FIP against xFIP/SIERA. His seasonal lines: 3.50/3.48 against 4.07/4.18. His last 14 days: 2.55/2.95 against 4.06/4.33.

-Davis Martin continues to trim his ratios (1.62 ERA) and now has a top-five FIP at 2.34, settling in between guys like Cris Sanchez and Nolan McLean. He went from having fewer than seven strikeouts in each of his first four outings to ripping off seven or more in his latest four, pushing to 10 and nine in his last two. I don’t love the underlying six-pitch arsenal, but whiffs and plus control demand a certain range.

-Payton Tolle has a 1.99 xERA, which is good for second among starters and places him between Skenes and Ohtani on the podium.

-Eury Perez is the proud owner of a 117 Stuff+ score, which is third-best, but it’s tied to a 92 Location+ for a middling 104 Pitching+ metrics. It’s weird to be close to a world where Max Meyer and Robby Snelling are the two Marlin arms I want the most compared to Perez and Sandy Alcantara.

It’s not by some wide margin, mind you, but Perez can’t put together an entire game’s worth of command and execution, while Alcantara is backed into a corner of needing elite ratios if a lowly 16.1% K rate is on the table. That should rise with an 11.1% swinging-strike rate, and the changeup remains strong, but the overall picture isn’t enticing.

(Okay, Perez had a decent showing here against the Twins after I wrote his blurb. He always seems to have something throw him off, but resilience and refinement should continue to improve with time.)

-Nathan Eovaldi’s side is barking, and I’m anticipating some setback or IL stint. Pushing him through this is scary, but perhaps he pulls a Joe Ryan and surprises us.

-Eduardo Rodriguez is popping for those who sort adds by player rank over the last two weeks, thanks to gems at home against the Pirates and Mets. He also shone against the Braves at home back on April 3, with only one iffy home outing (5 IP, 4 ER vs. CHW, but he got the win!). However, he’s on the road at Coors on Saturday before facing the Rox in Milwaukee next week.

Top 101 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 7

Top Starting Pitcher Prospects for Fantasy Baseball - Week 7

Here are the key SP stashes, including honorable mentions, from our esteemed, industry-leading prospect analyst, Eric Cross. You should also read his full Top 25 Fantasy Baseball Prospects To Stash article, which is updated weekly!

More Fantasy Baseball Analysis